BBC man 'linked to 1975 BD coup plot'

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BBC man 'linked to coup plot'

The government of Bangladesh has called on the BBC to sack the head of
its Bengali service after accusing him of colluding in the bloody 1975
coup which led to the murder of the country's independence leader,
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Bangladesh's prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, - Sheikh Mujibur's daughter
- has demanded a formal investigation into the role played by Syed
Mahmud Ali in her father's death. Mr Ali joined the BBC 11 years ago
after a career as a senior officer in the Bangladeshi army.

Officials in Dhaka have hinted that unless the corporation swiftly
"removes" Mr Ali from his editor's post, the government will consider
terminating the BBC's transmission facilities. They added that the
"existing fraternal and cordial relations" between the UK and
Bangladesh might also be in jeopardy.

In an interview last week with a London-based Bangladeshi journalist,
Mr Ali said he had initially fought on the side of the Pakistan army
during Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971.

He also described how on the day of the coup, in August 1975, he turned
up at the radio station in Dhaka where the coup leaders had
triumphantly assembled after shooting to death Sheikh Mujibur and 11
members of his family.

Last night Mr Ali would not discuss his earlier career in the
Bangladeshi army. But the BBC World Service said he had been
"misrepresented" in the interview. "The BBC has full confidence in the
impartiality and objectivity of the Bengali section and its head," a
statement said. It added that he denied all involvement in the plot
against Sheikh Mujibur.

Source: The Guardian